Kevin Kamenetz
Police Memorial
May 13, 2011
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I am honored to be here on behalf of the people of Baltimore County to pay tribute to the memory of those police officers who lost their lives in the line of duty.
Yesterday, I was invited to the White House with Chief Johnson, where President Obama and Vice President Biden honored law enforcement officers from across the nation for going above and beyond the call of duty, including three Police Officers from Baltimore County. It was a beautiful and meaningful ceremony and it was the kind of recognition police officers do not receive nearly often enough. Today, although the President could not be here to honor them in person, we are gathered here in Towson to recognize eight Baltimore County Police Officers to whom no tribute is sufficient, no honor too great.
No words any of us can say, no monument we could ever build will ever fill hole left by the loss of the eight men inscribed on this monument. These men were not just police officers. They were fathers and sons, husbands and brothers, friends and neighbors. But thanks to their sacrifice, our communities are better, safer places to live for all our citizens.
That is why this memorial to these fallen heroes is so important. For it reminds us of how much we expect of our police officers every day, and of the price that has sometimes been paid for the safety and security that we all too often take for granted.
Benjamin D’Israeli, a British prime minister, once wrote, “The legacy of heroes is the memory of a great name and the inheritance of a great example.” The memory of these great men will never die-- their lives and their deeds solidify their place in this County’s history. However, it is incumbent upon us to ensure that theirs is a legacy not of sorrow, but of inspiration.
Today and for all time, their names are preserved here in this plaza, at the heart of the County to which they were so dedicated. For all of us who serve the people of Baltimore County, this monument is a lasting reminder of their example and of how much we owe them.
As we move forward today, let us pledge to keep them in our hearts and live our own lives with the same courage, the same commitment, and the same selflessness with which they lived theirs. As we move forward, let us give their brothers in arms the same support we would give them, in the hope that no more names will ever be chiseled into this memorial. And as we move forward, let us build a County that is worthy of the oath that every Baltimore County Police Officer takes, so that none of their sacrifices, no matter how great or how small, will ever be in vain.
